Three Moves Ahead 476: Pericles

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Pericles
Rob, Troy, and Bruce get together to discuss Mark Herman's epic wargame of the Peloponnesian Wars, Pericles. How does it capture the sweep of a vast historical subject that was only sometimes decided through military conquest?

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I have and very much enjoy Churchill. I have hesitated on Pericles, and I still do not own it to this day. That first plateau of fully grasping the mechanics of the game, without even considering strategy, seems a much larger step to ascend than does Churchill. Is this a fair assessment?

You guys clearly seem to respect and admire the game design, but I don't know that I'm getting the sense I need to rush out and get this. I also feel restrained somewhat by my lukewarm sense for ancients-period games. With the exception of Fort Sumter, I really like the other Mark Herman games on my shelf, but something is holding me back with Pericles. Maybe it's just the reality of not being able to easily find 3 other players to have a full contingent for the way the game seems meant to be played.

All that being said, what is your feedback on Phormio, the solo bot? Is the game enjoyable if one chooses to attempt solo play?

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The problem with those kinds of shows is they're significantly less international than the rest.

Here in Eastern Europe, I can't get those more niche boardgames. Even if I order them internationally I'll have to convince my friends to play in English and few are comfortable with that, those games are complex enough even when there's no language barrier.

Not saying those shows are bad. Just make one envious.

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I can seem to access this page from the 3MA episode link. It says that I don't have permission to access the page, although following the link in the Idle Thumbs works fine (I'm here after all). Is anyone else having the problem or is it just me?

Anyway, I've been curious to see what Bruce had to say about Pericles ever since he did a show on Churchill. Unfortunately I don't have friends that would be willing to buy boardgames and they are incredibly expensive here. That said, I do like these board games discussion very much. They are always informative about the historical period that the game is trying to represent and I also find it fascinating to hear about how boardgames work even though I'll probably never play it.